Maria A. Sinetova Author Answered Jul 24, 2018
Laboratory of Intracellular Regulation, Institute of Plant Physiology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia
Dear Alison,
I’ve never tried this protocol with diatoms, but based on experience with other algae which is in coincidence with data from thorough study of Ritchie (2006) methanol is a more efficient extractant of chlorophyll than 90% acetone, ethanol should work similarly as methanol. So for spectrophotometric quantitative estimation methanol/ethanol is a better choice. But chlorophylls are less stable in methanol and ethanol and tend to form allomers so for HPLC study it is preferable to use other solvents (acetone, chloroform etc.) and mechanical disruption will be needed in most cases.
Best regards,
Maria